I absolutely love books that use mythology in their stories so having the MC, Tarisai, being part Ehru made me more invested in the book. With Melu (the Ehru) being enslaved he is basically a Djinn, meaning he owes his Master, or in this case Mistress, three wishes. Formally he was the guardian of Swanna who watched over the crops and made sure they grew. The three wishes play a heavy role in the plot of Raybearer, especially where Tarisai is concerned. Despite the fact she's only half Ehru, she's still under the control of her father's Mistress. My point is, I love how this part of the mythos plays into the plot in such as interesting and cruel way.
Raybearer has some wonderful elements in it, the magic system was a particularly intriguing one. I loved the idea of Hollows and that they were all unique to the people who have them. I also liked that the countries all had some reflection of real cultures and nations. While this is mostly based on African cultures it was nice to see some small elements of multiple cultures, it really made the world building something special. At the same time it was strange how one country tried to make every other country under their rule fit into their culture. Even though this is fiction it does make you consider the real world influence of culture and how, even though all cultures are unique and beautiful, there are some people that make out that some cultures are inferior purely because of their differences.
The characters were one of my favourite things about this book. Tarisai was such a great MC, with her complicated relationship with Ekundayo, it was very tense at times knowing what she'd been ordered to do despite her love for Dayo. Honestly I just loved following Tarisai's journey, seeing her relationships with other characters and finding out whether she'd be able to break the curse that traps both her and her father while staying true to her heart.
Also, special mention to the glossary and list of characters and places with pronunciations because they really helped out, I am bad with pronunciations without heating them so that really helped.
Raybearer has some wonderful elements in it, the magic system was a particularly intriguing one. I loved the idea of Hollows and that they were all unique to the people who have them. I also liked that the countries all had some reflection of real cultures and nations. While this is mostly based on African cultures it was nice to see some small elements of multiple cultures, it really made the world building something special. At the same time it was strange how one country tried to make every other country under their rule fit into their culture. Even though this is fiction it does make you consider the real world influence of culture and how, even though all cultures are unique and beautiful, there are some people that make out that some cultures are inferior purely because of their differences.
The characters were one of my favourite things about this book. Tarisai was such a great MC, with her complicated relationship with Ekundayo, it was very tense at times knowing what she'd been ordered to do despite her love for Dayo. Honestly I just loved following Tarisai's journey, seeing her relationships with other characters and finding out whether she'd be able to break the curse that traps both her and her father while staying true to her heart.
Also, special mention to the glossary and list of characters and places with pronunciations because they really helped out, I am bad with pronunciations without heating them so that really helped.